Overcrowding laws?

Tomtom07

I hope someone can help us, We rent a small 2 bed flat from our local housing association. We have a 11yr old daughter(12 at xmas not sure that makes any difference but I'll add it anyway) and a 13month old son, i've been told by various organisations (inc local council, CAB, Housing association....etc) various different laws and regulations, ALL conflicting each other. :mad:

Does anyone know the laws of overcrowding?Is there a denfinitve answer to this question?

If any one can help I would be so thankful

poppysarah

Your home has a number on the tenancy that says how many people can live there. It'll be something stupid like 6 or 8.

What had everyone told you?

squinty

Contained within part X of the 1985 Housing Act

Rather than cutting and pasting the regs try:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1985/cukpga_19850068_en_26

However, these are the minimum, different organisation may have their own policies that are more generous. For example, the council may not house a family of your size in a 2 bed flat. But in your case I assume your son has been born since you lived in the flat. The council may give you some addtional priority because of overcrowding (if it uses a points based system) but you are not overcrowded by the definition in the 1985 Act.

Bearing in mind the current demand for social housing, have you considered looking for a mutual exchange?

dubsey

My old boss lived in a two bed maisonette which was the smallest place I have ever seen, with his girlfriend, her son aged 6 and two more children aged 3 and 1. They asked the council (Maidstone) for a larger place (even a three bed flat) but all they were told was that there was a huge waiting list. When she fell pregnant again they had to take matters into their own hands and rent privately.

There are a couple people at work that live in one bed flats with children and unless they rent privately they are stuck there. I am not trying to belittle your situation in any way, I just think that, certainly here in Kent anyway, there is a complete lack of housing for people in need, so even if the council agree that you need somewhere larger, there is nowhere to move you to.

I wish you luck, having a daughter the same age as yours, I know how much she values her own space and privacy.

Tomtom07

Thank you everyone for your advice so far, yes we are looking at mutual exchanges, no luck as of yet. We have been told various different r&r as I said, CAB told us we have to be moved due to UK laws (not the first time CAB have been wrong when I've called them) Council told us it is down to the induvidual HA (found out out of about 6/7 HA in the area, we are with the only one that will not move us due to situation).

Time to make our living room into a bedroom I think, and to start looking for long term rentals.

Thanks everyone so far for all your advice.

:beer:

chocs2010

we live in 1 bedroom flat with our 2 boys aged 8 and 2 and our baby girl aged 5 weeks,we have tried everything to get moved like going to our local mp and looking at home exchange,does anyone have any advice on what we can do next?

Wee_Willy_Harris

chocs2010 wrote: »

we live in 1 bedroom flat with 2 boys aged 8 and 2 and our baby girl aged 5 weeks,we have been told for the last 7 years that there are familys worse off then us and to make things worse our own housing officer said to us we would have been moved years ago if we had a drug problem or if we were on benifits:mad:

Then your housing officer is talking gibberish and I would take any further information recieved from them with a huge pinch of salt.

Wee_Willy_Harris

Tomtom07 wrote: »

Thank you everyone for your advice so far, yes we are looking at mutual exchanges, no luck as of yet. We have been told various different r&r as I said, CAB told us we have to be moved due to UK laws (not the first time CAB have been wrong when I've called them) Council told us it is down to the induvidual HA (found out out of about 6/7 HA in the area, we are with the only one that will not move us due to situation).

Time to make our living room into a bedroom I think, and to start looking for long term rentals.

Thanks everyone so far for all your advice.

:beer:

It might help if we knew which part of Essex you lived in?

RAS

Yet another very old thread being resurrected by a newbie?

snapping_crocodile

chocs2010 wrote: »

we live in 1 bedroom flat with our 2 boys aged 8 and 2 and our baby girl aged 5 weeks,we have tried everything to get moved like going to our local mp and looking at home exchange,does anyone have any advice on what we can do next?

Chocs2010 this thread is a bit old so you would have been better off starting a new one! Your flat does sound very overcrowded!!! Do eihter of you work, and could afford a private rent? What sort of property are you in private, council etc? You could also ask your health visitor to write a letter of support if you are on the council waiting list.

chocs2010

my partner works full time while i stay at home to look after our children,our health visitor did write a letter in support of us being moved out of our council flat as did my childs head teacher,we cant afford to rent private as my partners wages has gone down by nearly seven thousand since last year:(